CAMERON514
Junior Member
I have no idea if this will help anyone, but I thought I would at least share what I came across. If you are having issues with a LOW Beam not working maybe its just a Ground Strap?!?!?
My Driver Side Low beam head light has not worked in years, and have had to drove with my High Beams on. I tried swapping bulbs etc, and never had luck. Now let me explain how I may have fixed my issue.
I just did a Camshaft / Lifter swap, engine was in the process of being torn down. I disconnected the Grounds from the back of each head and never thought about it again until I went to install them again. The ground strap has 3 spots for bolts to go through. See pics below. One goes on the back of the Driver side Head that jumpers to the Passenger side head, which then is grounded to the firewall on the Passenger side. Mine was broken from the Passenger head to the firewall. See pic below. The RED arrow I made which would be where the ground strap goes that portion of the strap was missing. There was a tiny bit of my old ground strap still connected against the firewall. I was unable to remove the nut from the bolt before it completely broke. Also laying under the truck you may see the ground strap hanging if its broken. It should be visible.
Now part of my ground strap was good from the driver head to passenger side head, but wasn't exactly sure what to do next. I originally ordered an OEM ground strap, but that pushed me back an extra week or two to get it. I ended up cancelling my order and bought some ground straps from amazon since I could get them next day. I only needed 1 ground strap long enough to reach the firewall to the rear of the passenger head. I doubled up ground straps on the passenger head. The ground straps from amazon worked perfect! One eyelit opening fits perfect for the head bolt and the other eyelit was smaller so I could use a smaller bolt for it. Now what I did was pulled my carpet up and drilled a hole through the firewall and pushed a bolt through that was long enough. Having an extra hand would be great , but is doable by yourself. "kind of tricky" I cleaned the firewall of any paint, so it was bare metal. I was able to secure my ground strap to the bolt, and tighten it. If i remember correctly i made a loose knot so it wasn't resting on the manifold or have a chance to rest on it.
NOW I had NO idea what that strap may have grounded. I had NO issues with electronics other then NO low beam on the driver side. I got the truck put all back together and fired it up. Started right up, but I went to check my turn signals, head lights, etc so I could take it for a test drive. I noticed I have low beams now. HOW? I didn't do anything other than a ground strap. Could that be all it was, and maybe others could check and see if that fixes their issue??
Get under your truck and see if your ground strap is connected to the firewall from your passenger side head. I hope this may help someone. Sorry for rambling on and on.
Amazon.com: QWORK 3 Pcs 20" x 1/2" Braided Ground Straps with Tinned Copper, Automotive Engine Grounding Flat Tinned Copper Strip with 1/2" Ring to 1/4" Ring Terminal Connectors : Automotive
My Driver Side Low beam head light has not worked in years, and have had to drove with my High Beams on. I tried swapping bulbs etc, and never had luck. Now let me explain how I may have fixed my issue.
I just did a Camshaft / Lifter swap, engine was in the process of being torn down. I disconnected the Grounds from the back of each head and never thought about it again until I went to install them again. The ground strap has 3 spots for bolts to go through. See pics below. One goes on the back of the Driver side Head that jumpers to the Passenger side head, which then is grounded to the firewall on the Passenger side. Mine was broken from the Passenger head to the firewall. See pic below. The RED arrow I made which would be where the ground strap goes that portion of the strap was missing. There was a tiny bit of my old ground strap still connected against the firewall. I was unable to remove the nut from the bolt before it completely broke. Also laying under the truck you may see the ground strap hanging if its broken. It should be visible.
Now part of my ground strap was good from the driver head to passenger side head, but wasn't exactly sure what to do next. I originally ordered an OEM ground strap, but that pushed me back an extra week or two to get it. I ended up cancelling my order and bought some ground straps from amazon since I could get them next day. I only needed 1 ground strap long enough to reach the firewall to the rear of the passenger head. I doubled up ground straps on the passenger head. The ground straps from amazon worked perfect! One eyelit opening fits perfect for the head bolt and the other eyelit was smaller so I could use a smaller bolt for it. Now what I did was pulled my carpet up and drilled a hole through the firewall and pushed a bolt through that was long enough. Having an extra hand would be great , but is doable by yourself. "kind of tricky" I cleaned the firewall of any paint, so it was bare metal. I was able to secure my ground strap to the bolt, and tighten it. If i remember correctly i made a loose knot so it wasn't resting on the manifold or have a chance to rest on it.
NOW I had NO idea what that strap may have grounded. I had NO issues with electronics other then NO low beam on the driver side. I got the truck put all back together and fired it up. Started right up, but I went to check my turn signals, head lights, etc so I could take it for a test drive. I noticed I have low beams now. HOW? I didn't do anything other than a ground strap. Could that be all it was, and maybe others could check and see if that fixes their issue??
Get under your truck and see if your ground strap is connected to the firewall from your passenger side head. I hope this may help someone. Sorry for rambling on and on.
Amazon.com: QWORK 3 Pcs 20" x 1/2" Braided Ground Straps with Tinned Copper, Automotive Engine Grounding Flat Tinned Copper Strip with 1/2" Ring to 1/4" Ring Terminal Connectors : Automotive
